Deborah D.L. Chung

The "leading smart materials scientist in this county," Deborah D.L. Chung is internationally recognized for her work on smart materials and carbon composites.

Chung was the first woman to become a full Professor in the School of Engineering and was also one of the first recipients of the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities (2003), an award created to recognize the work of those who engage actively in scholarly and creative pursuit beyond their teaching responsibilities.

Her research is on materials science and engineering with a particular focus on the development of "smart materials". She has worked on many different kinds of materials including lightweight structural materials as well as construction, adsorption, battery electrode, solar cell, and electronic packaging materials.

In 2001 Chung was selected as an "Innovator" by the Upstate Alliance for Innovation. The following year she was recognized as an "Outstanding Inventor" by the State University of New York. At the time Chung had submitted 70 invention disclosures and been awarded 15 patents (with another provisional application pending), 2 of which had been licensed.

Her work on radio frequency and radiation shielding is being used to create "smart concert" that could be used to block cellular phone use in buildings where cell phone use can disturbing or dangerous.